Chapter 390 - 358: Golden Nature

’I can’t keep clashing with him head-on!’

The violent, successive tremors from his Fruit Position sent a pang of agony through Vidyārāja Bodhisattva with every shudder. His heart bled with each one.

He could clearly feel that his Cyan Flame Buddha Country Fruit Position—which hung high above the river of time and should have been as stable as Mount Sumeru—was now like a crumbling tower in a storm, on the verge of collapse!

If they continued to slam against each other like this, it would be far more serious than just his True Spirit wavering or his Status declining.

It might even trigger a "Fruit Position escape."

Should that happen, his eight hundred years of bitter cultivation and his esteemed position as a Bodhisattva would all dissolve into nothing, like a bubble on the water!

’How could I let myself be dragged down to ruin with this madman?!’

And yet, if he didn’t fight?

The madman was pressing him relentlessly, his Dao fire burning fiercely. It was obvious he had singled him out, an established Bodhisattva, as a target to make an example of, a whetstone to temper his own Dao. How could he possibly back down so easily?

In a flash, the ferocity on Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s three faces softened slightly, his eyes a mixture of ruthlessness and quick-witted desperation.

He suddenly threw his head back and let out a great, long cry toward the Spirit Mountain battlefield beyond the All Marvelous Heaven. It was a roar mixed with alarm, anger, and urgency, a sound wave that pierced the boundary between reality and illusion, echoing in the ears of every True Monarch and Bodhisattva.

"Senior Brother Dragon Elephant! Fellow cultivators!

This beast is vicious and stubborn! Come and help me, quickly!"

’If I can’t take this madman down alone, then we’ll all attack him together!’

’You think you can rely on that bizarre technique to brazenly initiate a Fruit Position collision?’

’Fine! Let’s see if your newly-ascended "sun" is crushed first, or if the collective Fruits of us Bodhisattvas can’t withstand the strain!’

The thunderous cry immediately alarmed the great figures above Spirit Mountain.

The dozen or so Buddhist Cultivation Bodhisattvas, led by Dragon Elephant Wisdom Bodhisattva, looked grim. The Buddha Light around them surged, and the lotus platforms beneath their feet began to whirl as they prepared to tear open space and project their will into the perilous All Marvelous Heaven to aid their brother.

However—

"SHIING."

A clear sword hum sliced directly into the rising Divine Thoughts of the Bodhisattvas, carrying with it a chilling intent that could divide Yin and Yang and draw absolute boundaries.

Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch, his green robes fluttering, had at some point appeared, blocking the path of the Bodhisattvas.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his calm gaze sweeping over Dragon Elephant Bodhisattva and the others. His tone was as placid as an ancient, undisturbed well.

"Fellow Daoist Dragon Elephant, we are all peers seeking the supreme Great Dao. Why must this escalate to... a fight to the death, a group attack?"

Seven-colored Buddha Light flowed around Dragon Elephant Wisdom Bodhisattva. His face was solemn, his voice immense.

"Fellow Daoist Qingyuan, this is an internal affair of our Buddhist Sect. We are eliminating an enemy of Buddhism. How can you call it a ’group attack’?

Please, Fellow Daoist, grant us this convenience."

"Ha," a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch’s lips.

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I have no intention of stopping you."

Dragon Elephant Bodhisattva’s expression softened, and the surging Buddha Power around him subsided slightly as he prepared to move again.

But just then, Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch’s calm voice sounded once more, unhurried, yet every word fell like a pearl of ice on a jade plate, striking the heart of every Buddhist Cultivation Bodhisattva.

"However, there is something I feel I must remind you all."

He lifted his gaze slightly, his eyes seeming to pierce through the void and land upon the scene in the All Marvelous Heaven where the brutal collision of Fruit Positions was taking place.

"If you all rashly intervene at this moment... aren’t you afraid that the Fellow Daoist who dared to brazenly initiate a Fruit Position collision will get carried away in the heat of battle,

and decide to throw caution to the wind—"

"And spill this raging ’fire’ onto all of your Fruit Positions as well?"

The moment he finished speaking, it was as if an ancient, frigid tide swept over them.

The churning Buddha Light around the crowd of Buddhist Cultivation Bodhisattvas froze instantly!

The terrifying image from the All Marvelous Heaven—of that blazing white sun brazenly crashing into the Cyan Flame Buddha Country, causing it to tremble, its Dao Principles to shatter, and its very Status to faintly drop—flashed with horrifying clarity in every Bodhisattva’s mind!

Qingyuan Dao Seeking True Monarch had spoken lightly.

But the implication sent a chill down the spines of these Bodhisattvas, long accustomed to their lofty positions and far-reaching calculations.

’Save him? Brotherhood? The righteous cause of defeating an enemy of Buddhism?’

’But if doing so... means placing my own Fruit Position, the fruit of a thousand years of bitter cultivation, my very life, within the striking range of that madman...’

In an instant, the cold calculation of weighing pros and cons overwhelmed the hot-blooded impulse of shared enmity.

Several Bodhisattvas who were not particularly close to Vidyārāja’s faction quietly stopped the spinning of their lotus platforms. Their surging Buddha Power receded without a sound as they lowered their gaze, minding their own business.

Even Dragon Elephant Wisdom Bodhisattva froze, the half-step he had taken hanging suspended in mid-air.

The seven-colored Buddha Light around him fluctuated violently, a clear sign of his intense inner struggle.

"Foolish!"

After a moment, Dragon Elephant Bodhisattva roared in anger. His expression returned to one of solemn dignity, his Buddha Light blazing once more as his powerful and resolute voice echoed in all directions:

"Junior Brother Wisdom King is the head of our Buddhist Sect’s Dharma-protecting Wisdom Kings, a pillar of Spirit Mountain!

How can we abandon our own because of a demon’s ferocity?

Junior Brother, hold on for just a moment longer!

Once we complete our divination, we will surely find this beast’s weakness, lay an inescapable net, and suppress him to glorify the might and virtue of the Buddha!"

His words were righteous and rang with conviction.

In the All Marvelous Heaven, Vidyārāja Bodhisattva, who had "heard" all of this perfectly clearly, felt his three faces stiffen in unison.

’Relying on others is, in the end, a fool’s hope.’

He forcefully pulled his gaze back, staring intently at the blazing white sun opposite him. Even as its edges continuously disintegrated, it still radiated a terrifying gravitational pull and unyielding will. He stared at the blurry, calm face of Qi Yun at the sun’s core.

He threw caution to the wind!

Dignity as a Bodhisattva, saving face, losing face—in the face of the utter despair of his Dao Fruit potentially shattering, all of it could be discarded!

Vidyārāja Bodhisattva took a deep breath. The raging cyan flames around him receded slightly, and his voice, lowered and carrying an unprecedented tone of compromise, was transmitted directly to Qi Yun:

"Fellow Daoist!

This matter can end today!"

"It was I who was reckless before, a fool who failed to recognize a true immortal!

In this battle, consider it... my loss!"

"There is no irreconcilable grudge between us! Why must we push things to the point of Jade and Stone Burn Together, just to become a laughingstock for others?

Fellow Daoist, name your price!

As long as it is within my power, let us consider this making a new friend today. Let us turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk, what do you say?"

When you lean on a mountain, it crumbles; when you lean on a person, they run.

Feeling the increasingly obvious "palpitations" from his Cyan Flame Buddha Country Fruit Position—a clear precursor to a "Fruit Position escape"!

Vidyārāja Bodhisattva could no longer care about anything else. He could only relent and beg for mercy.

Hearing this almost-humble plea, a smile finally, slowly... bloomed on Qi Yun’s perpetually calm face.

He didn’t immediately withdraw his charging momentum, merely easing it slightly. A gentle, clear voice emanated from the center of the great sun:

"Bodhisattva, you exaggerate.

Since you are willing to turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk, how could I be an unreasonable person?"

His tone was nothing short of amicable.

But his next sentence made Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s heart, which had just begun to relax, leap into his throat, a glacial chill washing over him!

Qi Yun smiled, his gaze seeming to penetrate the blazing white light and cyan flames. He spoke softly:

"Since you are so sincere, Fellow Daoist, then I will... be so bold as to ask for one thing."

"What is it?" Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s voice was dry. He already had a terrible premonition.

Qi Yun’s smile didn’t change. Word by word, his voice like the chime of gold on jade, he echoed his request through the deathly silent All Marvelous Heaven:

"Gold Nature."

The moment those two words were spoken, Heaven and Earth fell silent.

Gold Nature!

Samadhi Unity, Seeking Gold for the Dao.

Gold Nature contained a True Monarch’s most essential and pure comprehension and essence of the Great Dao. It was also a thread of immortal substance derived from the unification of the Dharma Body, Immortal Appearance, and Fruit Position.

To a True Monarch, it was arguably the most precious thing they possessed!

"You—!" All color instantly drained from Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s three faces, his eyes exploding with an ultimate, cold light.

"Fellow Daoist, isn’t that going a bit too far?"

The Cyan Flame Buddha Country, which had just begun to calm, erupted in fury once more as countless phantoms of Demon-Slaying Magical Artifacts coalesced.

"Calm your anger, Bodhisattva.

I only want ’a wisp,’ not all of it.

With your eight hundred years of Merit Fruit and profound foundation, losing this wisp of Gold Nature will indeed damage your Primordial Qi and slightly degrade your Status.

But with a few hundred years of quiet cultivation, it’s not impossible to recover."

"But if the Bodhisattva insists on fighting..."

Qi Yun raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the All Marvelous Heaven as if glancing toward Spirit Mountain before falling back on Vidyārāja Bodhisattva. His tone remained placid.

"Should your Fruit Position escape and your Gold Nature drift free, then... who knows where that ownerless Gold will flow?

And who... will it empower?

At that point, wouldn’t you, Bodhisattva... be left with nothing?"

Every word was a heavy hammer, smashing violently against Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s struggling mental defenses.

Fight, and he would likely lose, possibly even be dragged to death with this madman, his Gold Nature posthumously benefiting an enemy or a bystander.

Yield, and he would only have to part with a wisp of Gold Nature. Though his foundation would be damaged, he would preserve the vast majority of his Dao Fruit and his life, leaving open the chance for a comeback in the future.

The calculation was clear, cold, and cruel.

Beyond the All Marvelous Heaven, Spirit Mountain was deathly still.

All the True Monarchs and Bodhisattvas held their breath, awaiting Vidyārāja Bodhisattva’s choice.

Would he choose a humiliating survival to preserve his Dao Fruit?

Or would he refuse to bend and gamble everything?

Time trickled by in the standoff between the blazing white and the cyan flame, every moment an agony.

Finally, after a long silence.

The flames boiling around the towering Cyan Flame Wisdom King Dharma Aspect began to dim, little by little.

From his three faces, the expressions of anger, ferocity, and humiliation receded like the tide.

A silent answer emanated from the Dharma Aspect, echoing through the All Marvelous Heaven:

"...Fine."

"We shall proceed... as you say, Fellow Daoist."

As his voice fell, the dark gold Sanskrit character at the very core of the Cyan Flame Buddha Country trembled violently!

Immediately, a wisp of something so pure it was blinding, so brilliant it was blinding, struggled free from the Sanskrit character. It formed a thin, yet immeasurably heavy golden thread and slowly drifted toward...

Wherever the golden thread passed, the All Marvelous Heaven resonated with a low hum, and the river of time rippled strangely.

As for the Cyan Flame Buddha Country Fruit Position, the instant it lost this wisp of its core Gold Nature, its high-hanging position began to sink uncontrollably... dropping a short distance toward the gray, ceaselessly flowing river of time below.

A degradation in Status!

Qi Yun watched the wisp of "Gold Nature" fly toward him and revealed a satisfied smile.

He opened his mouth slightly.

That wisp of Gold Nature, symbolizing a portion of an ancient Bodhisattva’s fundamental Dao Foundation, flew into his body like a weary bird returning to its nest.

And Qi Yun’s calm voice rang out again, echoing through the All Marvelous Heaven and announcing the end of this heaven-shaking gamble:

"Your generosity is appreciated, Bodhisattva."

"Let the karma of this day be settled with this."

"I thank you."

...